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12/13/2016Inside Startup Fundraising – Bay Area 2016 Join Pillsbury senior associate Deborah A. Carrillo as she speaks during a 2-hour breakfast session on startup fundraising. Topics will include the process of a raise, pre-money and post-money valuation, understanding dilution, negotiating your best VC deal, term sheets: what you need to know and more.

11/8/2016New FCC Privacy Rules for Broadband and Voice ProvidersAuthors:
Glenn S. Richards,
Deborah S. Thoren-Peden
In an order issued November 2, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission for the first time imposed privacy requirements on providers of broadband internet access services (“BIAS”). The much-anticipated order was an outgrowth of the FCC’s 2015 decision to reclassify BIAS as a telecommunications service and wrested jurisdiction from the Federal Trade Commission. The rules will also apply to voice service providers (including VoIP, wireless and wireline); replacing longstanding rules.

4/12/2016NTIA Rulemaking Seeks Comments on Government Role in IoTAuthors:
Aimee P. Ghosh,
Sheila McCafferty Harvey,
Glenn S. Richards,
Brian M. Wong
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the Department of Commerce, is seeking public comment on the benefits, challenges and potential roles for the government in fostering the advancement of the Internet of Things (IoT). According to NTIA, the Internet of Things describes the connection of physical objects, infrastructure and environments to various identifiers, sensors, networks and/or computing capability. Today, there are an estimated 25 billion connected devices, including connected cars and medical devices, as well as smart cities, refrigerators and heating systems.

July 2015FCC Expands Reach of Telephone Consumer Protection ActAuthors:
Glenn S. Richards,
Lauren Lynch Flick,
Andrew D. Bluth,
Amy L. Pierce
On July 10, 2015, the FCC issued the agency’s long-awaited omnibus Declaratory Ruling and Order. The Ruling focuses largely on providing guidance, particularly for new and emerging technologies, with regard to what an autodialer is and when consent to use one is needed. The Ruling skews heavily on the side of protecting consumers from potentially unwanted calls while allowing some conditional exceptions for certain calls that may be beneficial to consumers. All businesses should immediately reevaluate their calling practices to ensure compliance with the new Ruling, as it is likely to escalate the continued upward trend in TCPA class action filings. Finally, the Ruling establishes that telecommunications providers can implement blocking technology. Therefore, all businesses should be alert to the potential for their calls to be blocked, including by error.

August 2013FCC Commences E-Rate Program OverhaulAuthors:
Glenn S. Richards, Christine A. Reilly
The August 20, 2013 Federal Register (“FedReg”) included a notice officially establishing the comment and reply cycle associated with the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission”) recently released Modernizing the E-Rate Program for Schools and Libraries Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”).1 According to the FedReg notice, comments are due September 16, 2013 and reply comments are due October 16, 2013. This is the Commission’s latest effort to modernize and streamline the E-Rate program.

11/4/2011Telecom MonitorAuthors:
Glenn S. Richards, Christine A. Reilly The Commission's Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 Initiates a Two-Year Deadline for Providers of Advanced Communications Services and Manufacturers of Equipment Used in Advanced Communications Services to Comply with Disabilities Access Requirements.

10/28/2009FCC Shifts Net Neutrality Debate into High GearAuthors:
John K. Hane,
Glenn S. Richards
Last week the FCC launched a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to adopt six “open Internet” rules that would bind all broadband access providers, including those providing mobile and satellite broadband services. If adopted, the rules could have pervasive and lasting effects in many industry sectors, including broadband, voice and video service providers, infrastructure, device, chipset and other component vendors, content publishers and distributors, software publishers, and application service providers.

On Tuesday, February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the "Act"), which had been passed by Congress on February 13. This legislation, commonly referred to as the economic stimulus bill, authorizes $7.2 billion in funding to accelerate the penetration of broadband technologies throughout the country. The authorization of specific funding for these purposes represents a significant business opportunity for the communications industry.